Enhanced bandwidth puncturing

ABSTRACT

This disclosure provides methods, devices and systems for enhanced bandwidth puncturing. Some implementations more specifically relate to punctured channel indications that support channel puncturing over a range of bandwidths achievable in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11be amendment, and future generations, of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some implementations, an access point (AP) may communicate static punctured channel information to each associated wireless station (STA) in its BSS. In some other implementations, a transmit opportunity (TXOP) holder may communicate dynamic punctured channel information to a TXOP responder with which it intends to communicate. Still further, in some implementations, the TXOP responder may communicate additional punctured channel information to the TXOP holder responsive to the dynamic punctured channel information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application for patent is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/473,186 entitled “ENHANCED BANDWIDTH PUNCTURING”filed Sep. 13, 2021, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/079,455 entitled “ENHANCED BANDWIDTH PUNCTURING” andfiled on Sep. 16, 2020, each of which are assigned to the assigneehereof and expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, and morespecifically to enhanced bandwidth puncturing techniques for wirelesscommunication.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY

A wireless local area network (WLAN) may be formed by one or more accesspoints (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for useby a number of client devices also referred to as stations (STAs). Thebasic building block of a WLAN conforming to the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is a BasicService Set (BSS), which is managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified bya Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) that is advertised by the AP. AnAP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STAs withinwireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication linkwith the WLAN.

Channel puncturing is a wireless communication technique which enables awireless communication device (such as an AP or a STA) to transmit andreceive wireless communications over a portion of a wireless channelexclusive of particular subchannels (referred to as “puncturedsubchannels”). For example, if a wireless communication device detectsthat a 20 MHz subchannel of a 160 MHz wireless channel is occupied, thewireless communication device can use channel puncturing to avoidcommunicating over the occupied subchannel while still utilizing theremaining 140 MHz bandwidth. Accordingly, channel puncturing allows awireless communication device to improve or maximize its throughput byutilizing more of the available spectrum.

New WLAN communication protocols are being developed to enable enhancedWLAN communication features such as, for example, increases in thebandwidth of communications (up to at least 320 MHz). As the bandwidthof the wireless channel increases, the likelihood of interference on oneor more subchannels also increases. For example, a wirelesscommunication device in a given BSS may occupy one or more subchannelsof a 320 MHz channel used by a wireless communication device in anoverlapping BSS (OBSS). Thus, as new WLAN communication protocols enableaccess to a greater range of bandwidths, new channel puncturingindications are needed to efficiently utilize the newly availablespectrum.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods and devices of this disclosure each have severalinnovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for thedesirable attributes disclosed herein.

One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosurecan be implemented as a method of wireless communication. The method maybe performed by a wireless communication device, and may includetransmitting, to a wireless station (STA), a management frame carryingpunctured channel information indicating one or more first puncturedsubchannels associated with a wireless channel; and communicating withthe STA over a portion of the wireless channel that excludes at leastthe one or more first punctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include a bitmaprepresenting a plurality of subchannels associated with the wirelesschannel, where the one or more first punctured subchannels are indicatedby one or more bits, respectively, of the bitmap. In someimplementations, each bit of the bitmap may represent a respective 20MHz subchannel. In some implementations, the bitmap may be carried in anon-legacy operation element of the management frame.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include apuncturing mode indication indicating whether a transmit opportunity(TXOP) holder is permitted to indicate one or more second puncturedsubchannels to a TXOP responder, where the one or more second puncturedsubchannels are different than the one or more first puncturedsubchannels. In some implementations, the puncturing mode indication maybe carried in a non-legacy capability element of the management frame.In some aspects, the puncturing mode indication may further indicatewhether the TXOP responder is permitted to indicate one or more thirdpunctured subchannels to the TXOP holder, where the third puncturedsubchannels are different than the first punctured subchannels and thesecond punctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the method may further include receiving, from the STA,a packet carrying dynamic punctured channel information indicating oneor more second punctured subchannels that are different than the one ormore first punctured subchannels, where the portion of the wirelesschannel further excludes the one or more second punctured subchannels.In some other aspects, the method may further include performing a clearchannel assessment (CCA) operation that indicates one or more secondpunctured subchannels that are different than the one or more firstpunctured subchannels; and transmitting, to the STA, a packet carryingdynamic punctured channel information indicating the one or more secondpunctured subchannels, where the portion of the wireless channel furtherexcludes the one or more second punctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the packet may be a physical layer convergence protocol(PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) and the dynamic punctured channelinformation may be carried in a universal signal field (U-SIG) of thePPDU. In some other aspects, the packet may be a control frame and thedynamic punctured channel information may be carried in a service fieldof the control frame. In some implementations, the dynamic puncturedchannel information may include a bitmap representing a plurality ofsubchannels of the wireless channel, where the one or more secondpunctured subchannels are indicated by one or more bits, respectively,of the bitmap. In some other implementations, the dynamic puncturedchannel information may be carried on five bits of the service fieldhaving a value that maps to the one or more first punctured subchannels.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. Insome implementations, the wireless communication device may include atleast one processor and at least one memory communicatively coupled withthe at least one processor and storing processor-readable code. In someimplementations, execution of the processor-readable code by the atleast one processor causes the wireless communication device to performoperations including transmitting, to a STA, a management frame carryingpunctured channel information indicating one or more puncturedsubchannels associated with a wireless channel; and communicating withthe STA over a portion of the wireless channel that excludes at leastthe one or more punctured subchannels.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented as a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a wireless communication device, and mayinclude receiving, from an access point (AP), a management framecarrying punctured channel information indicating one or more firstpunctured subchannels associated with a wireless channel; andcommunicating with the AP over a portion of the wireless channel thatexcludes at least the one or more first punctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include a bitmaprepresenting a plurality of subchannels associated with the wirelesschannel, where the one or more first punctured subchannels are indicatedby one or more bits, respectively, of the bitmap. In someimplementations, each bit of the bitmap may represent a respective 20MHz subchannel. In some implementations, the bitmap may be carried in anon-legacy operation element of the management frame.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include apuncturing mode indication indicating whether a TXOP holder is permittedto indicate one or more second punctured subchannels to a TXOPresponder, where the one or more second punctured subchannels aredifferent than the one or more first punctured subchannels. In someimplementations, the puncturing mode indication may be carried in anon-legacy capability element of the management frame. In some aspects,the puncturing mode indication may further indicate whether the TXOPresponder is permitted to indicate one or more third puncturedsubchannels to the TXOP holder, where the third punctured subchannelsare different than the first punctured subchannels and the secondpunctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the method may further include receiving, from the AP,a packet carrying dynamic punctured channel information indicating oneor more second punctured subchannels that are different than the one ormore first punctured subchannels, where the portion of the wirelesschannel further excludes the one or more second punctured subchannels.In some other aspects, the method may further include performing a CCAoperation that indicates one or more second punctured subchannels thatare different than the one or more first punctured subchannels; andtransmitting, to the AP, a packet carrying dynamic punctured channelinformation indicating the one or more second punctured subchannels,where the portion of the wireless channel further excludes the one ormore second punctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the packet may be a PPDU and the dynamic puncturedchannel information may be carried in a U-SIG field of the PPDU. In someother aspects, the packet may be a control frame and the dynamicpunctured channel information may be carried in a service field of thecontrol frame. In some implementations, the dynamic punctured channelinformation may include a bitmap representing a plurality of subchannelsof the wireless channel, where the one or more second puncturedsubchannels are indicated by one or more bits, respectively, of thebitmap. In some other implementations, the dynamic punctured channelinformation may be carried on five bits of the service field having avalue that maps to the one or more first punctured subchannels.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. Insome implementations, the wireless communication device may include atleast one processor and at least one memory communicatively coupled withthe at least one processor and storing processor-readable code. In someimplementations, execution of the processor-readable code by the atleast one processor causes the wireless communication device to performoperations including receiving, from an AP, a management frame carryingpunctured channel information indicating one or more puncturedsubchannels associated with a wireless channel; and communicating withthe AP over a portion of the wireless channel that excludes at least theone or more punctured subchannels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter describedin this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will becomeapparent from the description, the drawings and the claims. Note thatthe relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn toscale.

FIG. 1 shows a pictorial diagram of an example wireless communicationnetwork.

FIG. 2A shows an example protocol data unit (PDU) usable forcommunications between an access point (AP) and one or more wirelessstations (STAs).

FIG. 2B shows an example field in the PDU of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 shows an example physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP)protocol data unit (PPDU) usable for communications between an AP andone or more STAs.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice.

FIG. 5A shows a block diagram of an example AP.

FIG. 5B shows a block diagram of an example STA.

FIG. 6 shows a sequence diagram illustrating an example message exchangebetween a transmit opportunity (TXOP) holder and a TXOP responderaccording to some implementations.

FIG. 7A shows an example configuration for a service field of a controlframe according to some implementations.

FIG. 7B shows another example configuration for a service field of acontrol frame according to some implementations.

FIG. 7C shows another example configuration for a service field of acontrol frame according to some implementations.

FIG. 8A shows a timing diagram illustrating an example bandwidthnegotiation operation between an AP and a STA according to someimplementations.

FIG. 8B shows a timing diagram illustrating another example bandwidthnegotiation operation between an AP and a STA according to someimplementations.

FIG. 9 shows a timing diagram illustrating another example bandwidthnegotiation operation between an AP and a STA according to someimplementations.

FIG. 10A shows a flowchart illustrating an example process for wirelesscommunication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturing according tosome implementations.

FIG. 10B shows a flowchart illustrating an example process for wirelesscommunication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturing according tosome implementations.

FIG. 11A shows a flowchart illustrating an example process for wirelesscommunication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturing according tosome implementations.

FIG. 11B shows a flowchart illustrating an example process for wirelesscommunication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturing according tosome implementations.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice according to some implementations.

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice according to some implementations.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is directed to certain implementations for thepurposes of describing innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, aperson having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that theteachings herein can be applied in a multitude of different ways. Thedescribed implementations can be implemented in any device, system ornetwork that is capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency(RF) signals according to one or more of the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, the IEEE 802.15standards, the Bluetooth® standards as defined by the Bluetooth SpecialInterest Group (SIG), or the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G or 5G(New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP), among others. The described implementations can beimplemented in any device, system or network that is capable oftransmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of thefollowing technologies or techniques: code division multiple access(CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA(SC-FDMA), single-user (SU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) andmulti-user (MU) MIMO. The described implementations also can beimplemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signalssuitable for use in one or more of a wireless personal area network(WPAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN), or an internet of things (IOT) network.

Various implementations relate generally to channel puncturing inwireless communications, and more particularly, to punctured channelindications that support channel puncturing over a range of bandwidthsachievable in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be amendment, and futuregenerations, of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some aspects, an AP maycommunicate “static” punctured channel information to each of itsassociated STAs. The static punctured channel information may indicateone or more channels or subchannels that are likely to be busy orotherwise occupied in a relatively constant or consistent manner (suchas by devices in an overlapping basic service set (OBSS)). In some otheraspects, a transmit opportunity (TXOP) holder may communicate “dynamic”punctured channel information to a TXOP responder. The dynamic puncturedchannel information may indicate one or more subchannels to be avoidedor excluded from communications between the TXOP holder and the TXOPresponder (such as in addition to the subchannels indicated by thestatic punctured channel information). Still further, in some aspects,the TXOP responder may communicate additional punctured channelinformation to the TXOP holder responsive to the dynamic puncturedchannel information. The additional punctured channel information mayindicate one or more additional subchannels to be avoided or excludedfrom communications between the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder (suchas in addition to the subchannels indicated by the static or dynamicpunctured channel information).

Particular implementations of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the followingpotential advantages. By providing static punctured channel informationto each device in a given BSS, aspects of the present disclosure mayensure that TXOP holders (and TXOP responders) avoid transmittingwireless communications on portions of a wireless channel that arelikely to encounter significant interference. For example, a TXOP holdermay puncture one or more subchannels of the wireless channel whentransmitting data to a TXOP responder, thereby avoiding interference onthe punctured subchannels while still utilizing the remainder of theavailable spectrum. Aspects of the present disclosure recognize thatsome channel conditions are likely to change over time, and that thechannel conditions perceived by the TXOP holder may be different thanthe channel conditions perceived by the TXOP responder. For example, theTXOP holder and TXOP responder can each detect which subchannels areoccupied at any given time, for example, by performing a clear channelassessment (CCA) on the wireless channel. By providing dynamic puncturedchannel information to the TXOP responder, the TXOP holder maydynamically update the subchannels to be avoided based on currentchannel conditions at the time of transmission. By providing additionalpunctured channel information to the TXOP holder, the TXOP responder mayfurther update the subchannels to be avoided based on current channelconditions at either end of the communication link.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationnetwork 100. According to some aspects, the wireless communicationnetwork 100 can be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN)such as a Wi-Fi network (and will hereinafter be referred to as WLAN100). For example, the WLAN 100 can be a network implementing at leastone of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocolstandards (such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification oramendments thereof including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad,802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba and 802.11be). The WLAN 100 mayinclude numerous wireless communication devices such as an access point(AP) 102 and multiple stations (STAs) 104. While only one AP 102 isshown, the WLAN network 100 also can include multiple APs 102.

Each of the STAs 104 also may be referred to as a mobile station (MS), amobile device, a mobile handset, a wireless handset, an access terminal(AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), or a subscriberunit, among other possibilities. The STAs 104 may represent variousdevices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistant (PDAs), otherhandheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers,laptops, display devices (for example, TVs, computer monitors,navigation systems, among others), music or other audio or stereodevices, remote control devices (“remotes”), printers, kitchen or otherhousehold appliances, key fobs (for example, for passive keyless entryand start (PKES) systems), among other possibilities.

A single AP 102 and an associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to asa basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the respective AP 102.FIG. 1 additionally shows an example coverage area 106 of the AP 102,which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. The BSSmay be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID), as wellas to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which maybe a medium access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102periodically broadcasts beacon frames (“beacons”) including the BSSID toenable any STAs 104 within wireless range of the AP 102 to “associate”or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish a respective communicationlink 108 (hereinafter also referred to as a “Wi-Fi link”), or tomaintain a communication link 108, with the AP 102. For example, thebeacons can include an identification of a primary channel used by therespective AP 102 as well as a timing synchronization function forestablishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. TheAP 102 may provide access to external networks to various STAs 104 inthe WLAN via respective communication links 108.

The APs 102 and STAs 104 may function and communicate (via therespective communication links 108) according to the IEEE 802.11 familyof wireless communication protocol standards (such as that defined bythe IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or amendments thereof including, butnot limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az,802.11ba and 802.11be). These standards define the WLAN radio andbaseband protocols for the PHY and medium access control (MAC) layers.The APs 102 and STAs 104 transmit and receive wireless communications(hereinafter also referred to as “Wi-Fi communications”) to and from oneanother in the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP)protocol data units (PPDUs). The APs 102 and STAs 104 in the WLAN 100may transmit PPDUs over an unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portionof spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fitechnology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 60 GHz band,the 3.6 GHz band, and the 700 MHz band. Some implementations of the APs102 and STAs 104 described herein also may communicate in otherfrequency bands, such as the 6 GHz band, which may support both licensedand unlicensed communications. The APs 102 and STAs 104 also can beconfigured to communicate over other frequency bands such as sharedlicensed frequency bands, where multiple operators may have a license tooperate in the same or overlapping frequency band or bands.

FIG. 2A shows an example protocol data unit (PDU) 200 usable forwireless communication between an AP 102 and one or more STAs 104. Forexample, the PDU 200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, the PDU 200includes a PHY preamble 202 and a PHY payload 204. For example, thepreamble 202 may include a legacy portion that itself includes a legacyshort training field (L-STF) 206, which may consist of two BPSK symbols,a legacy long training field (L-LTF) 208, which may consist of two BPSKsymbols, and a legacy signal field (L-SIG) 210, which may consist of twoBPSK symbols. The legacy portion of the preamble 202 may be configuredaccording to the IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard.In some implementations, the preamble 202 may also include a non-legacyportion including one or more non-legacy fields 212, for example,conforming to an IEEE wireless communication protocol such as the IEEE802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be or later wireless communication protocolprotocols.

The L-STF 206 generally enables a receiving device to perform automaticgain control (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. The L-LTF208 generally enables a receiving device to perform fine timing andfrequency estimation and also to perform an initial estimate of thewireless channel. The L-SIG 210 generally enables a receiving device todetermine a duration of the PDU and to use the determined duration toavoid transmitting on top of the PDU. For example, the L-STF 206, theL-LTF 208 and the L-SIG 210 may be modulated according to a binary phaseshift keying (BPSK) modulation scheme. The payload 204 may be modulatedaccording to a BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK)modulation scheme, a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulationscheme, or another appropriate modulation scheme. The payload 204 mayinclude a PSDU including a data field (DATA) 214 that, in turn, maycarry higher layer data, for example, in the form of medium accesscontrol (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs) or an aggregated MPDU(A-MPDU).

FIG. 2B shows an example L-SIG 210 in the PDU 200 of FIG. 2A. The L-SIG210 includes a data rate field 222, a reserved bit 224, a length field226, a parity bit 228, and a tail field 230. The data rate field 222indicates a data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the datarate field 222 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried inthe payload 204). The length field 226 indicates a length of the packetin units of, for example, symbols or bytes. The parity bit 228 may beused to detect bit errors. The tail field 230 includes tail bits thatmay be used by the receiving device to terminate operation of a decoder(for example, a Viterbi decoder). The receiving device may utilize thedata rate and the length indicated in the data rate field 222 and thelength field 226 to determine a duration of the packet in units of, forexample, microseconds (μs) or other time units.

FIG. 3 shows an example PPDU 300 usable for communications between an AP102 and one or more STAs 104. As described above, each PPDU 300 includesa PHY preamble 302 and a PSDU 304. Each PSDU 304 may represent (or“carry”) one or more MAC protocol data units (MPDUs) 316. For example,each PSDU 304 may carry an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU) 306 that includes anaggregation of multiple A-MPDU subframes 308. Each A-MPDU subframe 306may include an MPDU frame 310 that includes a MAC delimiter 312 and aMAC header 314 prior to the accompanying MPDU 316, which comprises thedata portion (“payload” or “frame body”) of the MPDU frame 310. EachMPDU frame 310 may also include a frame check sequence (FCS) field 318for error detection (for example, the FCS field may include a cyclicredundancy check (CRC)) and padding bits 320. The MPDU 316 may carry oneor more MAC service data units (MSDUs) 316. For example, the MPDU 316may carry an aggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) 322 including multiple A-MSDUsubframes 324. Each A-MSDU subframe 324 contains a corresponding MSDU330 preceded by a subframe header 328 and in some cases followed bypadding bits 332.

Referring back to the MPDU frame 310, the MAC delimiter 312 may serve asa marker of the start of the associated MPDU 316 and indicate the lengthof the associated MPDU 316. The MAC header 314 may include multiplefields containing information that defines or indicates characteristicsor attributes of data encapsulated within the frame body 316. The MACheader 314 includes a duration field indicating a duration extendingfrom the end of the PPDU until at least the end of an acknowledgment(ACK) or Block ACK (BA) of the PPDU that is to be transmitted by thereceiving wireless communication device. The use of the duration fieldserves to reserve the wireless medium for the indicated duration, andenables the receiving device to establish its network allocation vector(NAV). The MAC header 314 also includes one or more fields indicatingaddresses for the data encapsulated within the frame body 316. Forexample, the MAC header 314 may include a combination of a sourceaddress, a transmitter address, a receiver address or a destinationaddress. The MAC header 314 may further include a frame control fieldcontaining control information. The frame control field may specify aframe type, for example, a data frame, a control frame, or a managementframe.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication device400. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 canbe an example of a device for use in a STA such as one of the STAs 104described with reference to FIG. 1 . In some implementations, thewireless communication device 400 can be an example of a device for usein an AP such as the AP 102 described with reference to FIG. 1 . Thewireless communication device 400 is capable of transmitting (oroutputting for transmission) and receiving wireless communications (forexample, in the form of wireless packets). For example, the wirelesscommunication device can be configured to transmit and receive packetsin the form of physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol dataunits (PPDUs) and medium access control (MAC) protocol data units(MPDUs) conforming to an IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocolstandard, such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification oramendments thereof including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad,802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba and 802.11be.

The wireless communication device 400 can be, or can include, a chip,system on chip (SoC), chipset, package or device that includes one ormore modems 402, for example, a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compliant) modem. Insome implementations, the one or more modems 402 (collectively “themodem 402”) additionally include a WWAN modem (for example, a 3GPP 4GLTE or 5G compliant modem). In some implementations, the wirelesscommunication device 400 also includes one or more radios 404(collectively “the radio 404”). In some implementations, the wirelesscommunication device 406 further includes one or more processors,processing blocks or processing elements 406 (collectively “theprocessor 406”) and one or more memory blocks or elements 408(collectively “the memory 408”).

The modem 402 can include an intelligent hardware block or device suchas, for example, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) amongother possibilities. The modem 402 is generally configured to implementa PHY layer. For example, the modem 402 is configured to modulatepackets and to output the modulated packets to the radio 404 fortransmission over the wireless medium. The modem 402 is similarlyconfigured to obtain modulated packets received by the radio 404 and todemodulate the packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to amodulator and a demodulator, the modem 402 may further include digitalsignal processing (DSP) circuitry, automatic gain control (AGC), acoder, a decoder, a multiplexer and a demultiplexer. For example, whilein a transmission mode, data obtained from the processor 406 is providedto a coder, which encodes the data to provide encoded bits. The encodedbits are then mapped to points in a modulation constellation (using aselected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. The modulated symbols maythen be mapped to a number N_(SS) of spatial streams or a number N_(STS)of space-time streams. The modulated symbols in the respective spatialor space-time streams may then be multiplexed, transformed via aninverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and subsequently providedto the DSP circuitry for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signalsmay then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Theresultant analog signals may then be provided to a frequencyupconverter, and ultimately, the radio 404. In implementations involvingbeamforming, the modulated symbols in the respective spatial streams areprecoded via a steering matrix prior to their provision to the IFFTblock.

While in a reception mode, digital signals received from the radio 404are provided to the DSP circuitry, which is configured to acquire areceived signal, for example, by detecting the presence of the signaland estimating the initial timing and frequency offsets. The DSPcircuitry is further configured to digitally condition the digitalsignals, for example, using channel (narrowband) filtering, analogimpairment conditioning (such as correcting for I/Q imbalance), andapplying digital gain to ultimately obtain a narrowband signal. Theoutput of the DSP circuitry may then be fed to the AGC, which isconfigured to use information extracted from the digital signals, forexample, in one or more received training fields, to determine anappropriate gain. The output of the DSP circuitry also is coupled withthe demodulator, which is configured to extract modulated symbols fromthe signal and, for example, compute the logarithm likelihood ratios(LLRs) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream.The demodulator is coupled with the decoder, which may be configured toprocess the LLRs to provide decoded bits. The decoded bits from all ofthe spatial streams are then fed to the demultiplexer fordemultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits may then be descrambled andprovided to the MAC layer (the processor 406) for processing, evaluationor interpretation.

The radio 404 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF)transmitter (or “transmitter chain”) and at least one RF receiver (or“receiver chain”), which may be combined into one or more transceivers.For example, the RF transmitters and receivers may include various DSPcircuitry including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least onelow-noise amplifier (LNA), respectively. The RF transmitters andreceivers may, in turn, be coupled to one or more antennas. For example,in some implementations, the wireless communication device 400 caninclude, or be coupled with, multiple transmit antennas (each with acorresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with acorresponding receive chain). The symbols output from the modem 402 areprovided to the radio 404, which then transmits the symbols via thecoupled antennas. Similarly, symbols received via the antennas areobtained by the radio 404, which then provides the symbols to the modem402.

The processor 406 can include an intelligent hardware block or devicesuch as, for example, a processing core, a processing block, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) such as a field programmablegate array (FPGA), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. The processor 406 processes information receivedthrough the radio 404 and the modem 402, and processes information to beoutput through the modem 402 and the radio 404 for transmission throughthe wireless medium. For example, the processor 406 may implement acontrol plane and MAC layer configured to perform various operationsrelated to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames or packets.The MAC layer is configured to perform or facilitate the coding anddecoding of frames, spatial multiplexing, space-time block coding(STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation, among otheroperations or techniques. In some implementations, the processor 406 maygenerally control the modem 402 to cause the modem to perform variousoperations described above.

The memory 408 can include tangible storage media such as random-accessmemory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof. Thememory 408 also can store non-transitory processor- orcomputer-executable software (SW) code containing instructions that,when executed by the processor 406, cause the processor to performvarious operations described herein for wireless communication,including the generation, transmission, reception and interpretation ofMPDUs, frames or packets. For example, various functions of componentsdisclosed herein, or various blocks or steps of a method, operation,process or algorithm disclosed herein, can be implemented as one or moremodules of one or more computer programs.

FIG. 5A shows a block diagram of an example AP 502. For example, the AP502 can be an example implementation of the AP 102 described withreference to FIG. 1 . The AP 502 includes a wireless communicationdevice (WCD) 510 (although the AP 502 may itself also be referred togenerally as a wireless communication device as used herein). Forexample, the wireless communication device 510 may be an exampleimplementation of the wireless communication device 400 described withreference to FIG. 4 . The AP 502 also includes multiple antennas 520coupled with the wireless communication device 510 to transmit andreceive wireless communications. In some implementations, the AP 502additionally includes an application processor 530 coupled with thewireless communication device 510, and a memory 540 coupled with theapplication processor 530. The AP 502 further includes at least oneexternal network interface 550 that enables the AP 502 to communicatewith a core network or backhaul network to gain access to externalnetworks including the Internet. For example, the external networkinterface 550 may include one or both of a wired (for example, Ethernet)network interface and a wireless network interface (such as a WWANinterface). Ones of the aforementioned components can communicate withother ones of the components directly or indirectly, over at least onebus. The AP 502 further includes a housing that encompasses the wirelesscommunication device 510, the application processor 530, the memory 540,and at least portions of the antennas 520 and external network interface550.

FIG. 5B shows a block diagram of an example STA 504. For example, theSTA 504 can be an example implementation of the STA 104 described withreference to FIG. 1 . The STA 504 includes a wireless communicationdevice 515 (although the STA 504 may itself also be referred togenerally as a wireless communication device as used herein). Forexample, the wireless communication device 515 may be an exampleimplementation of the wireless communication device 400 described withreference to FIG. 4 . The STA 504 also includes one or more antennas 525coupled with the wireless communication device 515 to transmit andreceive wireless communications. The STA 504 additionally includes anapplication processor 535 coupled with the wireless communication device515, and a memory 545 coupled with the application processor 535. Insome implementations, the STA 504 further includes a user interface (UI)555 (such as a touchscreen or keypad) and a display 565, which may beintegrated with the UI 555 to form a touchscreen display. In someimplementations, the STA 504 may further include one or more sensors 575such as, for example, one or more inertial sensors, accelerometers,temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitude sensors. Ones of theaforementioned components can communicate with other ones of thecomponents directly or indirectly, over at least one bus. The STA 504further includes a housing that encompasses the wireless communicationdevice 515, the application processor 535, the memory 545, and at leastportions of the antennas 525, UI 555, and display 565.

As described above, channel puncturing is a wireless communicationtechnique which enables a wireless communication device (such as an APor a STA) to transmit and receive wireless communications over a portionof a wireless channel exclusive of particular subchannels (referred toas “punctured subchannels”). For example, if a wireless communicationdevice detects that a 20 MHz subchannel of a 160 MHz wireless channel isoccupied, the wireless communication device can use channel puncturingto avoid communicating over the occupied subchannel while stillutilizing the remaining 140 MHz bandwidth. Accordingly, channelpuncturing allows a wireless communication device to improve or maximizeits throughput by utilizing more of the available spectrum. As thebandwidth of the wireless channel increases, the likelihood ofinterference on one or more subchannels also increases. Thus, as newWLAN communication protocols enable access to a greater range ofbandwidths, new channel puncturing indications are needed to efficientlyutilize the newly available spectrum.

Various implementations relate generally to channel puncturing inwireless communications, and more particularly, to punctured channelindications that support channel puncturing over a range of bandwidthsachievable in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be amendment, and futuregenerations, of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In some aspects, an AP maycommunicate “static” punctured channel information to each of itsassociated STAs. The static punctured channel information may indicateone or more channels or subchannels that are likely to be busy orotherwise occupied in a relatively constant or consistent manner (suchas by devices in an OBSS). In some other aspects, a transmit opportunity(TXOP) holder may communicate “dynamic” punctured channel information toa TXOP responder. The dynamic punctured channel information may indicateone or more subchannels to be avoided or excluded from communicationsbetween the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder (such as in addition tothe subchannels indicated by the static punctured channel information).Still further, in some aspects, the TXOP responder may communicateadditional punctured channel information to the TXOP holder responsiveto the dynamic punctured channel information. The additional puncturedchannel information may indicate one or more additional subchannels tobe avoided or excluded from communications between the TXOP holder andthe TXOP responder (such as in addition to the subchannels indicated bythe static or dynamic punctured channel information).

Particular implementations of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the followingpotential advantages. By providing static punctured channel informationto each device in a given BSS, aspects of the present disclosure mayensure that TXOP holders (and TXOP responders) avoid transmittingwireless communications on portions of a wireless channel that arelikely to encounter significant interference. For example, a TXOP holdermay puncture one or more subchannels of the wireless channel whentransmitting data to a TXOP responder, thereby avoiding interference onthe punctured subchannels while still utilizing the remainder of theavailable spectrum. Aspects of the present disclosure recognize thatsome channel conditions are likely to change over time, and that thechannel conditions perceived by the TXOP holder may be different thanthe channel conditions perceived by the TXOP responder. For example, theTXOP holder and TXOP responder can each detect which subchannels areoccupied at any given time, for example, by performing a CCA on thewireless channel. By providing dynamic punctured channel information tothe TXOP responder, the TXOP holder may dynamically update thesubchannels to be avoided based on current channel conditions at thetime of transmission. By providing additional punctured channelinformation to the TXOP holder, the TXOP responder may further updatethe subchannels to be avoided based on current channel conditions ateither end of the communication link.

FIG. 6 shows a sequence diagram 600 illustrating an example messageexchange between a transmit opportunity (TXOP) holder and a TXOPresponder according to some implementations. In the example of FIG. 6 ,the TXOP holder is depicted as a STA 610 and the TXOP responder isdepicted as an AP 620. In other words, the STA 610 uses its TXOP tocommunicate with the AP 620 over a wireless channel 650. In some otherimplementations, the AP 620 may be the TXOP holder and the STA 610 maybe the TXOP responder. In some implementations, the STA 610 may be oneexample of any of the STAs 104 or 504 of FIGS. 1 and 5B, respectively,and the AP 620 may be one example of any of the APs 102 or 502 of FIGS.1 and 5B, respectively.

The AP 620 may determine or identify one or more subchannels of thewireless channel 650 that are frequently used or otherwise occupied bydevices (or other sources of interference) outside its BSS. For example,such subchannels may be constantly or consistently occupied by legacy orincumbent devices in an OBSS. Because these devices are beyond the AP'scontrol, the AP 620 may require the devices in its BSS to avoid usingthe occupied subchannels. In some implementations, the AP 620 maytransmit static punctured channel information 602 to each device in itsBSS to indicate that the occupied subchannels are to be avoided orpunctured when utilizing the wireless channel 650. In some aspects, thestatic punctured channel information 602 may be carried in one or moremanagement frames broadcast or transmitted by the AP 620 to the STA 610.Example suitable management frames include beacon frames, probe responseframes, and association response frames, among other examples.

In some implementations, the static punctured channel information 602may include a bitmap representing a number of subchannels associatedwith the wireless channel 650. For example, each bit of the bitmap mayrepresent a respective subchannel of the wireless channel 650. A bitvalue of “1” may indicate that the associated subchannel is to bepunctured or avoided, whereas a bit value of “0” may indicate that theassociated subchannel can be used for wireless communications. In someaspects, each bit of the bitmap may represent a 20 MHz subchannel. Forexample, a 16-bit bitmap may be used to indicate puncturing patterns forwireless channels of any size up to and including 320 MHz. In some otheraspects, the granularity of the subchannels associated with the bitmapmay vary based on the size of the wireless channel. For example, an8-bit bitmap may be used to indicate puncturing patterns for wirelesschannels of any size. When the size of the wireless channel is 160 MHzor less, each bit of the bitmap may represent a 20 MHz subchannel. Whenthe size of the wireless channel is greater than 160 MHz, each bit ofthe bitmap may represent a 40 MHz subchannel.

In some implementations, the AP 620 may add the bitmap to a non-legacy(or Extremely High Throughput (EHT)) operation element of a managementframe. Aspects of the present disclosure recognize that adding thebitmap to the non-legacy operation element may increase the overhead ofthe management frame. Such increase in overhead may be undesirable whenthere are no punctured channels to indicate (such as when each bit ofthe bitmap has a value of “0”). Thus, in some aspects, the staticpunctured channel information 602 may be omitted from any managementframes when the AP 620 does not detect any constant or consistentlyoccupied subchannels. For example, a bit may be added to the non-legacyoperation element to indicate whether the non-legacy operation elementcarries static punctured channel information 602. Alternatively, or inaddition, the static punctured channel information 602 may be added tothe management frames as a new information element (IE). For example,the IE may be added to the management frames only when the staticpunctured channel information 602 is available.

In some implementations, the STA 610 may detect one or more additionaloccupied subchannels of the wireless channel 650 after receiving thestatic punctured channel information 602 from the AP 620. Aspects of thepresent disclosure further recognize that the conditions of the wirelesschannel 650 may change over time, and that the static punctured channelinformation 602 may not account for such dynamic changes in the wirelesschannel 650. For example, at any given time, the STA 610 may detectinterference on one or more subchannels of the wireless channel 650other than those indicated by the static punctured channel information602. The STA 610 can detect the additional occupied subchannels, forexample, by performing CCA on the remaining subchannels of the wirelesschannel 650. In some implementations, the STA 610 may transmit dynamicpunctured channel information 604 to the AP 620 to indicate theadditional subchannels to be avoided or punctured when communicatingover the wireless channel 650.

In some implementations, the dynamic punctured channel information 604may be carried in one or more non-legacy PPDUs transmitted by the STA610 to the AP 620. As used herein, the term “non-legacy” may refer toframe formats and communication protocols conforming to the IEEE802.11be amendment, and future generations, of the IEEE 802.11 standard.For example, the IEEE 802.11be amendment defines a non-legacy (or EHT)PPDU format having a PHY preamble which includes a legacy portion and anon-legacy portion. The legacy portion of the PHY preamble includes anL-STF, an L-LTF, and an L-SIG. The non-legacy portion of the PHYpreamble includes new fields, such as a universal signal field (U-SIG),which may be used to carry signaling information. For example, U-SIG mayinclude a bandwidth and punctured information subfield having a valuewhich represents a channel puncturing pattern associated with the PPDU.In some aspects, the dynamic punctured channel information 604 may becarried in U-SIG. For example, the information in the bandwidth andpunctured information subfield of U-SIG may be used to convey thedynamic punctured channel information 604.

In some other implementations, the dynamic punctured channel information604 may be carried in one or more null data packet announcement (NDPA)frames transmitted by the STA 610 to the AP 620. For example, the IEEE802.11 standard defines a channel sounding procedure based on thetransmission of null data packets (NDPs). The STA 610 may initiate achannel sounding operation by transmitting an NDPA frame, followed by anNDP, to the AP 620. The NDPA frame format includes a MAC header followedby a sounding dialog token, followed by a number (n) of STA informationfields. Each STA information field includes a partial BW informationsubfield that carries information indicating a bandwidth associated withrequest sounding feedback (such as a starting resource unit (RU) indexand an ending RU index). In some aspects, the dynamic punctured channelinformation 604 may be carried in a STA information field of an NDPA.For example, the information in the partial bandwidth informationsubfield of the STA information field may be used to convey the dynamicpunctured channel information 604.

In implementations where the TXOP holder is the AP 620, the dynamicpunctured channel information 604 may be carried in one or more triggerframes transmitted by the AP 620 to the STA 610. For example, the IEEE802.11 standard supports trigger-based uplink communications. The AP 620may transmit a trigger frame to the STA 610 to solicit the transmissionof a trigger-based PPDU. Example suitable trigger frames includemulti-user request-to-send (MU-RTS) frames, multi-user blockacknowledgement request (MU-BAR) frames, and buffer status report poll(BSRP) frames, among other examples. The trigger frame format includes aMAC header followed by a common information field followed by a userinformation list which may include zero or more user information fields.The common information field includes an uplink bandwidth (UL BW)subfield that carries information indicating a bandwidth associated withthe PPDU. Each user information field includes an RU allocation subfieldthat carries information indicating one or more RUs to be allocated forthe PPDU. In some aspects, the dynamic punctured channel information 604may be carried in the common information field or a user informationfield of a trigger frame. For example, the information in the UL BWsubfield or the RU allocation subfield may be used to convey the dynamicpunctured channel information 604.

Still further, in some implementations, the dynamic punctured channelinformation 604 may be carried in one or more control frames transmittedby the STA 610 to the AP 620. Example suitable control frames includerequest-to-send (RTS) frames, power save polling (PS-POLL) frames, andblock acknowledgement request (BAR) frames, among other examples. Thecontrol frame format includes a PHY preamble followed by a data portion.The data portion includes a service field followed by a PSDU. Theservice field carries a scrambler initialization sequence that can beused to synchronize a descrambler of the receiving device (such as theAP 620). Aspects of the present disclosure recognize that the servicefield also includes a number of remaining bits unrelated to thescrambler initialization sequence. In existing versions of the IEEE802.11 standard, the remaining bits in the service field are reserved.In some aspects, the dynamic punctured channel information 604 may becarried in the service field of a control frame. For example, theremaining bits of the service field may be repurposed to convey thedynamic punctured channel information 604.

In some implementations, the AP 620 may detect one or more additionaloccupied subchannels of the wireless channel 650 after receiving thedynamic punctured channel information 604 from the STA 610. Aspects ofthe present disclosure further recognize that the channel conditionsperceived by the STA 610 may be different than the channel conditionsperceived by the AP 620. For example, at any given time, the AP 620 maybe proximate to sources of interference that are undetectable by the STA610. Thus, the AP 620 may detect interference on one or more subchannelsof the wireless channel 650 other than those indicated by the staticpunctured channel information 602 or the dynamic punctured channelinformation 604. The AP 620 can detect the additional occupiedsubchannels, for example, by performing CCA on the remaining subchannelsof the wireless channel 650. In some implementations, the AP 620 maytransmit additional punctured channel information 606 to the STA 610 toindicate the additional subchannels to be avoided or punctured whencommunicating over the wireless channel 650.

In some implementations, the additional punctured channel information606 may be carried in a clear-to-send (CTS) frame transmitted by the AP620 to the STA 610. For example, the IEEE 802.11 standard defines acontrol frame format that can be used for bandwidth negotiation betweena requesting device (such as the STA 610) and a responding device (suchas the AP 620). As used herein, the term “bandwidth negotiation frame”may refer to any control frame usable for bandwidth negotiations.Example suitable bandwidth negotiation frames include RTS frames and CTSframes, among other examples. During a bandwidth negotiation operation,the RTS frame may carry bandwidth information indicating a desiredbandwidth over which the requesting device would like to transmitsubsequent data frames and the CTS frame also may carry bandwidthinformation indicating the bandwidth available to the requesting devicefor the transmission of the data frames. Aspects of the presentdisclosure recognize that, similar to the bandwidth negotiationoperation, punctured subchannels also may be negotiated between a TXOPholder and a TXOP responder. For example, the TXOP holder and TXOPresponder may reuse the bandwidth negotiation frames to negotiate thepunctured subchannels. In some aspects, the additional punctured channelinformation 606 may be carried in the service field of a CTS frame. Forexample, the remaining bits of the service field may be repurposed toconvey the additional punctured channel information 606 (similar to thedynamic punctured channel information 604).

In some other implementations, the TXOP responder may not negotiatepunctured subchannels with the TXOP holder. In such implementations, theAP 620 may not transmit additional punctured channel information 606 tothe STA 610. However, in some instances (such as during a bandwidthnegotiation operation), the AP 620 may still transmit a response (suchas a CTS frame) to the STA 610 after receiving the dynamic puncturedchannel information 604. If the AP 620 is unable to support the fullrange of subchannels requested by the STA 610 (due to interferencedetected on one or more additional subchannels), the AP 620 mayindicate, in its response to the STA 610, that only a particularsub-band within the wireless channel 650 is available for use. Forexample, if the STA 610 transmits an RTS frame requesting a 320 MHzchannel, the AP 620 may respond with a CTS frame indicating that only a160 MHz channel is available. In some aspects, the response from the AP620 may include the dynamic punctured channel information 604 receivedfrom the STA 610. For example, the dynamic punctured channel information604 may be carried in a CTS frame transmitted by the AP 620 to the STA610. In some other aspects, the response from the AP 620 may not includeany punctured channel information. For example, the dynamic puncturedchannel information 604 may be absent from the CTS frame transmitted bythe AP 620 to the STA 610 when operating in the 5 GHz frequency band.

The STA 610 determines a portion of the wireless channel 650 to be usedfor subsequent communications with the AP 620 based on the puncturedsubchannels indicated in the static punctured channel information 602,the dynamic punctured channel information 604, and the additionalpunctured channel information 606 (if any). In some aspects, the portionof the wireless channel 650 usable by the STA 610 may include the fullrange of subchannels associated with the wireless channel 650,contiguous or non-contiguous, excluding any punctured subchannelsdetermined by the AP 620 or the STA 610. In some other aspects, theportion of the wireless channel 650 usable by the STA 610 may includeonly a subset of contiguous subchannels spanning a sub-band of thewireless channel 650 (such as indicated by the AP 620 during a bandwidthnegotiation operation). The STA 610 may proceed to transmit data 608 tothe AP 620 over the determined portion of the wireless channel 650.

In some implementations, a BSS may support at least one of multiplemodes of punctured channel control. In a first mode, puncturedsubchannels cannot be negotiated between the TXOP holder and the TXOPresponder. In other words, only the TXOP holder may determine thepunctured subchannels to be used for subsequent communications with theTXOP responder. For example, in the first mode, the STA 610 may transmitdynamic punctured channel information 604 to the AP 620, but the AP 620may not transmit additional punctured channel information 606 to the STA610. In a second mode, punctured subchannels can be negotiated betweenthe TXOP holder and the TXOP responder. In other words, the TXOP holderand the TXOP responder may collectively determine the puncturedsubchannels to be used for subsequent communications with one another.For example, in the second mode, the STA 610 may transmit dynamicpunctured channel information 604 to the AP 620, and the AP may transmitadditional punctured channel information 606 to the STA 610.

In some implementations, the AP 620 may transmit a puncturing modeindication 603 to each device in its BSS indicating which, if any, ofthe punctured channel control mode are supported by the BSS. Forexample, puncturing mode indication 603 may include two or more bitsthat can be used to indicate whether the BSS supports the first mode,the second mode, or neither of the modes (the BSS does not supportpunctured channel control). In some aspects, the puncturing modeindication 603 may be carried in one or more management frames broadcastor transmitted by the AP 620 to the STA 610. Example suitable managementframes include beacon frames, probe response frames, and associationresponse frames, among other examples. In some implementations, the AP620 may add the two or more bits to a non-legacy (or EHT) capabilityelement of a management frame. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6 , the puncturingmode indication 603 may be transmitted together with the staticpunctured channel information 602 in the same management frame.

In some other implementations, the STA 610 may dynamically select one ofthe modes supported by the AP 620. For example, the STA 610 may transmita puncturing mode selection 605 to the AP 620 indicating whether the AP620 can provide additional punctured channel information 606 to the STA610. In some configurations, the STA 610 may support receivingadditional punctured channel information 606 from the AP 620 such as,for example, to ensure the highest quality of communications with the AP620. In some other configurations, the STA 610 may not support receivingadditional punctured channel information 606 from the AP 620 such as,for example, when attempting to maximize its bandwidth utilization. Insome aspects, the puncturing mode selection 605 may be carried in theservice field of a control frame (such as an RTS frame or otherbandwidth negotiation frame). For example, one or more of the remainingbits of the service field of the control frame may be repurposed toconvey the puncturing mode selection 605. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6 , thepuncturing mode selection 605 may be transmitted together with thedynamic punctured channel information 604 in the same control frame.

FIG. 7A shows an example configuration for a service field 700 of acontrol frame according to some implementations. The service field 700includes a sequence of scrambler initialization bits 702 and a number ofremaining bits 704. As shown in FIG. 7A, the service field 700 is 2octets (16 bits) in length, however, the scrambler initializationsequence 702 represents only the first 7 bits of the service field 700(coinciding with bit positions B0-B6). As described above with referenceto FIG. 6 , the scrambler initialization sequence 702 may be used tosynchronize a descrambler of a receiving device.

Aspects of the present disclosure recognize that the remaining bits 704of the service field 700 are reserved in existing (non-HT) PPDU formats.More specifically, each of the remaining bits 704 is set to a value of“0” in legacy control frames (such as RTS, CTS, PS-POLL, and BARframes). As used herein, the term “legacy” may refer to frame formatsand communication protocols conforming to the IEEE 802.11ax amendment ofthe IEEE 802.11 standard. In some implementations, at least eight of theremaining bits 704 may be repurposed to convey punctured channelinformation (such as the dynamic punctured channel information 604 orthe additional punctured channel information 606 of FIG. 6 ). In theexample of FIG. 7A, the punctured channel information is carried on thelast eight remaining bits 704 (coinciding with bit position B8-B15 ofthe service field 700). However, in actual implementations, any of theremaining bits 704 may be repurposed to convey the punctured channelinformation.

In some implementations, the punctured channel information may berepresented by a punctured subchannel bitmap. For example, each of thebit positions B8-B15 may represent a respective subchannel of a wirelesschannel (where bit position B8 represents the lowest subchannel, and bitposition B15 represents the highest subchannel, of the wirelesschannel). A bit value of “1” may indicate that the associated subchannelis to be punctured or avoided, whereas a bit value of “0” may indicatethat the associated subchannel can be used for wireless communications.In some aspects, the granularity of each subchannel may depend on thesize of the wireless channel. For example, when the punctured subchannelbitmap represents a wireless channel greater than 160 MHz, each bit mayrepresent a respective 40 MHz subchannel. On the other hand, when thepunctured subchannel bitmap represents a wireless channel of 160 MHz orsmaller, each bit may represent a respective 20 MHz subchannel.

FIG. 7B shows another example configuration for a service field 710 of acontrol frame according to some implementations. The service field 710includes a sequence of scrambler initialization bits 712 and a number ofremaining bits 714. As shown in FIG. 7B, the service field 710 is 2octets (16 bits) in length, however, the scrambler initializationsequence 712 represents only the first 7 bits of the service field 710(coinciding with bit positions B0-B6). As described above with referenceto FIG. 6 , the scrambler initialization sequence 712 may be used tosynchronize a descrambler of a receiving device.

As described above with reference to FIG. 7A, the remaining bits 714 ofthe service field 710 are reserved in existing (non-HT) PPDU formats.Aspects of the present disclosure further recognize that, in accordancewith the IEEE 802.11 standard, a primary subchannel cannot be punctured.Thus, only 7 bits may be needed to represent each of the subchannels ofa wireless channel that can be punctured. In some implementations, sevenof the remaining bits 714 may be repurposed to convey punctured channelinformation (such as the dynamic punctured channel information 604 orthe additional punctured channel information 606 of FIG. 6 ). In theexample of FIG. 7B, the punctured channel information is carried on thelast seven remaining bits 714 (coinciding with bit position B9-B15 ofthe service field 710). However, in actual implementations, any of theremaining bits 714 may be repurposed to convey the punctured channelinformation.

In some implementations, the punctured channel information may berepresented by a punctured subchannel bitmap. For example, each of thebit positions B9-B15 may represent a respective subchannel of a wirelesschannel (where bit position B9 represents the lowest subchannel, and bitposition B15 represents the highest subchannel, of the wirelesschannel). A bit value of “1” may indicate that the associated subchannelis to be punctured or avoided, whereas a bit value of “0” may indicatethat the associated subchannel can be used for wireless communications.In some aspects, the granularity of each subchannel may depend on thesize of the wireless channel. For example, when the punctured subchannelbitmap represents a wireless channel greater than 160 MHz, each bit mayrepresent a respective 40 MHz subchannel. On the other hand, when thepunctured subchannel bitmap represents a wireless channel of 160 MHz orsmaller, each bit may represent a respective 20 MHz subchannel.

In comparison with the punctured subchannel bitmap of FIG. 7A, thepunctured subchannel bitmap of FIG. 7B leaves one unused bit of theremaining bits 704 (such as in bit position B8). In someimplementations, this unused bit may be repurposed to convey puncturingmode information (such as the puncturing mode selection 605 of FIG. 6 ).For example a bit value of “0” may indicate that the TXOP holdersupports only the first punctured channel control mode (where puncturedsubchannels cannot be negotiated between the TXOP holder and the TXOPresponder), and a bit value of “1” may indicate that the TXOP holdersupports the second punctured channel control mode (where puncturedsubchannels can be negotiated between the TXOP holder and the TXOPresponder). In some other implementations, the unused bit may bereserved for future use.

FIG. 7C shows another example configuration for a service field 720 of acontrol frame according to some implementations. The service field 720includes a sequence of scrambler initialization bits 722 and a number ofremaining bits 724. As shown in FIG. 7C, the service field 720 is 2octets (16 bits) in length, however, the scrambler initializationsequence 722 represents only the first 7 bits of the service field 720(coinciding with bit positions B0-B6). As described above with referenceto FIG. 6 , the scrambler initialization sequence 722 may be used tosynchronize a descrambler of a receiving device.

As described above with reference to FIG. 7A, the remaining bits 724 ofthe service field 720 are reserved in existing (non-HT) PPDU formats. Insome implementations, five of the remaining bits 724 may be repurposedto convey punctured channel information (such as the dynamic puncturedchannel information 604 or the additional punctured channel information606 of FIG. 6 ). In the example of FIG. 7C, the punctured channelinformation is carried on the five remaining bits 724 coinciding withbit positions B9-B13 of the service field 720. However, in actualimplementations, any of the remaining bits 724 may be repurposed toconvey the punctured channel information.

In some implementations, the punctured channel information may berepresented by a punctured subchannel value (rather than a bitmap). Inother words, a combined value of the bits in bit positions B9-B13 mayrepresent a known pattern of punctured subchannels (similar to howpunctured channel information is conveyed in the bandwidth and puncturedinformation subfield of U-SIG). For example, each pattern of 5 bits maybe mapped to a unique set of punctured subchannels for a given bandwidth(which may also be indicated by the service field 720). Thus, afterdetermining the bandwidth associated with the punctured channelinformation, a receiving device may use a lookup table to determine theparticular punctured subchannels represented by the punctured subchannelvalue.

In comparison with the punctured subchannel bitmap of FIG. 7A, thepunctured subchannel value of FIG. 7C leaves three unused bits of theremaining bits 704 (such as in bit positions B8, B14, and B15). In someimplementations, one of these unused bits (such as the bit in bitposition B8) may be repurposed to convey puncturing mode information(such as the puncturing mode selection 605 of FIG. 6 ). For example abit value of “0” may indicate that the TXOP holder supports only thefirst punctured channel control mode (where punctured subchannels cannotbe negotiated between the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder), and a bitvalue of “1” may indicate that the TXOP holder supports the secondpunctured channel control mode (where punctured subchannels can benegotiated between the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder). Theremaining unused bits (in bit positions B14 and B15) may be reserved forfuture use. In some other implementations, all three unused bits may bereserved for future use.

FIG. 8A shows a timing diagram illustrating an example bandwidthnegotiation operation 800 between an AP and a STA according to someimplementations. The AP may be one example of the APs 102 or 502 ofFIGS. 1 and 5A, respectively. The STA may be one example of the STAs 104or 504 of FIGS. 1 and 5B, respectively. In the example of FIG. 8A, theSTA is described as the TXOP holder and the AP is described as the TXOPresponder. However, in other implementations, the AP may be the TXOPholder and the STA may be the TXOP responder. In some implementations,the STA and the AP may operate in accordance with the first puncturedchannel control mode (where punctured subchannels cannot be negotiatedbetween the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder).

At time t₀, the STA transmits an RTS frame to the AP that is duplicatedover a 320 MHz channel, excluding a number of punctured subchannels. Inthe example of FIG. 8A, the punctured subchannels may represent one ormore occupied subchannels detected by the AP and one or more additionaloccupied subchannels detected by the STA. In some implementations, theRTS frame may carry punctured channel information indicating thepunctured subchannels to be avoided or punctured when communicating overthe 320 MHz channel. For example, the punctured channel information maybe carried by one or more of the remaining bits following a scramblerinitialization sequence in the service field of the RTS frame (such asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 7A-7C).

The AP receives the RTS frame and may interpret one or more bits of theservice field to carry punctured channel information. The AP may furtherdetermine the punctured subchannels represented by the receivedpunctured channel information. In the example of FIG. 8A, the AP may notdetect any additional occupied subchannels within the 320 MHz channel.Thus, at time t₁, the AP transmits a CTS frame to the STA that isduplicated over the 320 MHz channel, excluding the punctured subchannelsindicated by the STA. In some implementations, the CTS frame also maycarry punctured channel information identifying the same puncturedsubchannels as indicated in the RTS frame. In some otherimplementations, the CTS frame may not carry any punctured channelinformation.

In the example of FIG. 8A, the CTS frame may indicate that the APsupports the 320 MHz channel (and punctured subchannels) requested bythe STA. The STA receives the CTS frame and, at time t₂, proceeds totransmit a data PPDU to the AP over the portion of the 320 MHz channelwhich excludes the punctured subchannels. At time t₃, the AP confirmsreceipt of the data PPDU by transmitting an acknowledgement (ACK) frameback to the STA. As shown in FIG. 8A, the ACK frame also may beduplicated over the 320 MHz channel, excluding the puncturedsubchannels.

FIG. 8B shows a timing diagram illustrating another example bandwidthnegotiation operation 810 between an AP and a STA according to someimplementations. The AP may be one example of the APs 102 or 502 ofFIGS. 1 and 5A, respectively. The STA may be one example of the STAs 104or 504 of FIGS. 1 and 5B, respectively. In the example of FIG. 8B, theSTA is described as the TXOP holder and the AP is described as the TXOPresponder. However, in other implementations, the AP may be the TXOPholder and the STA may be the TXOP responder. In some implementations,the STA and the AP may operate in accordance with the first puncturedchannel control mode (where punctured subchannels cannot be negotiatedbetween the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder).

At time t₀, the STA transmits an RTS frame to the AP that is duplicatedover a 320 MHz channel, excluding a number of punctured subchannels. Inthe example of FIG. 8B, the punctured subchannels may represent one ormore occupied subchannels detected by the AP and one or more additionaloccupied subchannels detected by the STA. In some implementations, theRTS frame may carry punctured channel information indicating thepunctured subchannels to be avoided or punctured when communicating overthe 320 MHz channel. For example, the punctured channel information maybe carried by one or more of the remaining bits following a scramblerinitialization sequence in the service field of the RTS frame (such asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 7A-7C).

The AP receives the RTS frame and may interpret one or more bits of theservice field to carry punctured channel information. The AP may furtherdetermine the punctured subchannels represented by the receivedpunctured channel information. In the example of FIG. 8B, the AP maydetect a number of additional occupied subchannels in the upper 160 MHzsub-band of the 320 MHz channel. Because the STA does not supportpunctured channel negotiation, the AP may prevent the STA from utilizingthe upper 160 MHz sub-band of the 320 MHz channel. Thus, at time t₁, theAP transmits a CTS frame to the STA that is duplicated over the lower160 MHz sub-band. In some implementations, the CTS frame also may carrypunctured channel information identifying the same punctured subchannelsas indicated in the RTS frame. In some other implementations, the CTSframe may not carry any punctured channel information.

In the example of FIG. 8B, the CTS frame may indicate that the AP doesnot support the 320 MHz channel requested by the STA. For example, theCTS frame may indicate that only the lower 160 MHz sub-band can be usedfor subsequent communications over the wireless channel. The STAreceives the CTS frame and, at time t₂, proceeds to transmit a data PPDUto the AP over the lower 160 MHz sub-band of the 320 MHz channel. Attime t₃, the AP confirms receipt of the data PPDU by transmitting anacknowledgement (ACK) frame back to the STA. As shown in FIG. 8B, theACK frame also may be duplicated over the lower 160 MHz sub-band of the320 MHz channel.

FIG. 9 shows a timing diagram illustrating another example bandwidthnegotiation operation 900 between an AP and a STA according to someimplementations. The AP may be one example of the APs 102 or 502 ofFIGS. 1 and 5A, respectively. The STA may be one example of the STAs 104or 504 of FIGS. 1 and 5B, respectively. In the example of FIG. 9 , theSTA is described as the TXOP holder and the AP is described as the TXOPresponder. However, in other implementations, the AP may be the TXOPholder and the STA may be the TXOP responder. In some implementations,the STA and the AP may operate in accordance with the second puncturedchannel control mode (where punctured subchannels can be negotiatedbetween the TXOP holder and the TXOP responder).

At time t₀, the STA transmits an RTS frame to the AP that is duplicatedover a 320 MHz channel, excluding a number of punctured subchannels. Inthe example of FIG. 9 , the punctured subchannels may represent one ormore occupied subchannels detected by the AP and one or more additionaloccupied subchannels detected by the STA. In some implementations, theRTS frame may carry punctured channel information indicating thepunctured subchannels to be avoided or punctured when communicating overthe 320 MHz channel. For example, the punctured channel information maybe carried by one or more of the remaining bits following a scramblerinitialization sequence in the service field of the RTS frame (such asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 7A-7C).

The AP receives the RTS frame and may interpret one or more bits of theservice field to carry punctured channel information. The AP may furtherdetermine the punctured subchannels represented by the receivedpunctured channel information. In the example of FIG. 9 , the AP maydetect a number of additional occupied subchannels in the upper 160 MHzsub-band of the 320 MHz channel. Because the STA supports puncturedchannel negotiation, the AP may allow the STA to utilize any portion ofthe 320 MHz channel exclusive of the occupied subchannels. Thus, at timet₁, the AP transmits a CTS frame to the STA that is duplicated over the320 MHz channel, excluding the punctured subchannels indicated by theSTA and the additional punctured subchannels determined by the AP. Insome implementations, the CTS frame also may carry punctured channelinformation identifying the punctured subchannels indicated in the RTSframe and the additional punctured subchannels determined by the AP. Insome other implementations, the CTS frame may not carry any puncturedchannel information.

In the example of FIG. 9 , the CTS frame may indicate that the APsupports the 320 MHz channel (and punctured subchannels) requested bythe STA. The STA receives the CTS frame and, at time t₂, proceeds totransmit a data PPDU to the AP over the portion of the 320 MHz channelwhich excludes the punctured subchannels determined by the STA and theadditional punctured subchannels determined by the AP. At time t₃, theAP confirms receipt of the data PPDU by transmitting an acknowledgement(ACK) frame back to the STA. As shown in FIG. 9 , the ACK frame also maybe duplicated over the lower 320 MHz channel, excluding the puncturedsubchannels determined by the STA and the additional puncturedsubchannels determined by the AP.

FIG. 10A shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1000 forwireless communication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturingaccording to some implementations. In some implementations, the process1000 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin an AP such as one of the APs 102 or 502 of FIGS. 1 and 5A,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 1000 begins in block 1002 bytransmitting, to a STA, a management frame carrying punctured channelinformation indicating one or more first punctured subchannelsassociated with a wireless channel. In block 1004, the process 1000proceeds with communicating with the STA over a portion of the wirelesschannel that excludes at least the one or more first puncturedsubchannels.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include a bitmaprepresenting a plurality of subchannels associated with the wirelesschannel, where the one or more first punctured subchannels are indicatedby one or more bits, respectively, of the bitmap. In someimplementations, each bit of the bitmap may represent a respective 20MHz subchannel. In some implementations, the bitmap may be carried in anon-legacy operation element of the management frame.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include apuncturing mode indication indicating whether a TXOP holder is permittedto indicate one or more second punctured subchannels to a TXOPresponder, where the one or more second punctured subchannels aredifferent than the one or more first punctured subchannels. In someimplementations, the puncturing mode indication may be carried in anon-legacy capability element of the management frame. In some aspects,the puncturing mode indication may further indicate whether the TXOPresponder is permitted to indicate one or more third puncturedsubchannels to the TXOP holder, where the third punctured subchannelsare different than the first punctured subchannels and the secondpunctured subchannels.

In some aspects, a packet carrying dynamic punctured channel informationmay be received from the STA. In some implementations, the dynamicpunctured channel information may indicate one or more second puncturedsubchannels that are different than the one or more first puncturedsubchannels, where the portion of the wireless channel further excludesthe one or more second punctured subchannels.

FIG. 10B shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1010 forwireless communication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturingaccording to some implementations. In some implementations, the process1010 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin an AP such as one of the APs 102 or 502 of FIGS. 1 and 5A,respectively.

With reference for example to FIG. 10A, the process 1010 may begin, inblock 1012, after the transmission of the management frame in block 1002and before the communication with the STA in block 1004. In someimplementations, the process 1010 begins in block 1012 by performing aCCA operation that indicates one or more second punctured subchannelsthat are different than the one or more first punctured subchannels. Inblock 1014, the process 1010 proceeds with transmitting, to the STA, apacket carrying dynamic punctured channel information indicating the oneor more second punctured subchannels, where the portion of the wirelesschannel further excludes the one or more second punctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the packet may be a PPDU and the dynamic puncturedchannel information may be carried in a U-SIG field of the PPDU. In someother aspects, the packet may be a control frame and the dynamicpunctured channel information may be carried in a service field of thecontrol frame. In some implementations, the dynamic punctured channelinformation may include a bitmap representing a plurality of subchannelsof the wireless channel, where the one or more second puncturedsubchannels are indicated by one or more bits, respectively, of thebitmap. In some other implementations, the dynamic punctured channelinformation may be carried on five bits of the service field having avalue that maps to the one or more first punctured subchannels.

FIG. 11A shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1100 forwireless communication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturingaccording to some implementations. In some implementations, the process1100 may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin a STA such as one of the STAs 104 or 504 of FIGS. 1 and 5B,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 1100 begins in block 1102 byreceiving, from an AP, a management frame carrying punctured channelinformation indicating one or more first punctured subchannelsassociated with a wireless channel. In block 1104, the process 1100proceeds with communicating with the AP over a portion of the wirelesschannel that excludes at least the one or more first puncturedsubchannels.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include a bitmaprepresenting a plurality of subchannels associated with the wirelesschannel, where the one or more first punctured subchannels are indicatedby one or more bits, respectively, of the bitmap. In someimplementations, each bit of the bitmap may represent a respective 20MHz subchannel. In some implementations, the bitmap may be carried in anon-legacy operation element of the management frame.

In some aspects, the punctured channel information may include apuncturing mode indication indicating whether a TXOP holder is permittedto indicate one or more second punctured subchannels to a TXOPresponder, where the one or more second punctured subchannels aredifferent than the one or more first punctured subchannels. In someimplementations, the puncturing mode indication may be carried in anon-legacy capability element of the management frame. In some aspects,the puncturing mode indication may further indicate whether the TXOPresponder is permitted to indicate one or more third puncturedsubchannels to the TXOP holder, where the third punctured subchannelsare different than the first punctured subchannels and the secondpunctured subchannels.

In some aspects, a packet carrying dynamic punctured channel informationmay be received from the AP. In some implementations, the dynamicpunctured channel information may indicate one or more second puncturedsubchannels that are different than the one or more first puncturedsubchannels, where the portion of the wireless channel further excludesthe one or more second punctured subchannels.

FIG. 11B shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1110 forwireless communication that supports enhanced bandwidth puncturingaccording to some implementations. In some other implementations, theprocess 1110 may be performed by a wireless communication deviceoperating as or within a STA such as one of the STAs 104 or 504 of FIGS.1 and 5B, respectively.

With reference for example to FIG. 11A, the process 1110 may begin, inblock 1112, after the reception of the management frame in block 1102and before the communication with the AP in block 1104. In someimplementations, the process 1110 begins in block 1112 by performing aCCA operation that indicates one or more second punctured subchannelsthat are different than the one or more first punctured subchannels. Inblock 1114, the process 1110 proceeds with transmitting, to the AP, apacket carrying dynamic punctured channel information indicating the oneor more second punctured subchannels, where the portion of the wirelesschannel further excludes the one or more second punctured subchannels.

In some aspects, the packet may be a PPDU and the dynamic puncturedchannel information may be carried in a U-SIG field of the PPDU. In someother aspects, the packet may be a control frame and the dynamicpunctured channel information may be carried in a service field of thecontrol frame. In some implementations, the dynamic punctured channelinformation may include a bitmap representing a plurality of subchannelsof the wireless channel, where the one or more second puncturedsubchannels are indicated by one or more bits, respectively, of thebitmap. In some other implementations, the dynamic punctured channelinformation may be carried on five bits of the service field having avalue that maps to the one or more first punctured subchannels.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice 1200 according to some implementations. In some implementations,the wireless communication device 1200 is configured to perform any ofthe processes 1000 or 1010 described above with reference to FIGS. 10Aand 10B, respectively. In some implementations, the wirelesscommunication device 1200 can be an example implementation of thewireless communication device 400 described above with reference to FIG.4 . For example, the wireless communication device 1200 can be a chip,SoC, chipset, package or device that includes at least one processor andat least one modem (for example, a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or acellular modem).

The wireless communication device 1200 includes a reception component1210, a communication manager 1220, and a transmission component 1230.The communication manager 1220 may further include a punctured channelindication component 1222 and punctured channel avoidance component1224. Portions of one or more of the components 1222 and 1224 may beimplemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In someimplementations, at least one of the components 1222 or 1224 isimplemented at least in part as software stored in a memory (such as thememory 408). For example, portions of one or more of the components 1222and 1224 can be implemented as non-transitory instructions or codeexecutable by a processor (such as the processor 406) to perform thefunctions or operations of the respective component.

The reception component 1210 is configured to receive RX signals, over awireless channel, from one or more other wireless communication devices;the transmission component 1230 is configured to transmit TX signals,over the wireless channel, to the one or more other wirelesscommunication devices; and the communication manager 1220 is configuredto manage communications with the one or more other wirelesscommunication devices. In some implementations, the punctured channelindication component 1222 transmits, to a STA, a management framecarrying punctured channel information indicating one or more puncturedsubchannels associated with a wireless channel; and the puncturedchannel avoidance component 1224 communicates with the STA over aportion of the wireless channel that excludes at least the one or morepunctured subchannels.

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice 1300 according to some implementations. In some implementations,the wireless communication device 1300 is configured to perform any ofthe processes 1100 or 1110 described above with reference to FIGS. 11Aand 11B, respectively. In some implementations, the wirelesscommunication device 1300 can be an example implementation of thewireless communication device 400 described above with reference to FIG.4 . For example, the wireless communication device 1300 can be a chip,SoC, chipset, package or device that includes at least one processor andat least one modem (for example, a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or acellular modem).

The wireless communication device 1300 includes a reception component1310, a communication manager 1320, and a transmission component 1330.The communication manager 1320 may further include a punctured channeldetermination component 1322 and punctured channel avoidance component1324. Portions of one or more of the components 1322 and 1324 may beimplemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In someimplementations, at least one of the components 1322 or 1324 isimplemented at least in part as software stored in a memory (such as thememory 408). For example, portions of one or more of the components 1322and 1324 can be implemented as non-transitory instructions or codeexecutable by a processor (such as the processor 406) to perform thefunctions or operations of the respective component.

The reception component 1310 is configured to receive RX signals, over awireless channel, from one or more other wireless communication devices;the transmission component 1330 is configured to transmit TX signals,over the wireless channel, to the one or more other wirelesscommunication devices; and the communication manager 1320 is configuredto manage communications with the one or more other wirelesscommunication devices. In some implementations, the punctured channeldetermination component 1322 receives, from an AP, a management framecarrying punctured channel information indicating one or more firstpunctured subchannels associated with a wireless channel; and thepunctured channel avoidance component 1324 communicates with the AP overa portion of the wireless channel that excludes at least the one or morefirst punctured subchannels.

Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

-   -   1. A method for wireless communication by a wireless        communication device, including:    -   transmitting, to a wireless station (STA), a management frame        carrying punctured channel information indicating one or more        first punctured subchannels associated with a wireless channel;        and    -   communicating with the STA over a portion of the wireless        channel that excludes at least the one or more first punctured        subchannels.    -   2. The method of clause 1, where the punctured channel        information includes a bitmap representing a plurality of        subchannels associated with the wireless channel, the one or        more first punctured subchannels being indicated by one or more        bits, respectively, of the bitmap.    -   3. The method of any of clauses 1 or 2, where each bit of the        bitmap represents a respective 20 MHz subchannel.    -   4. The method of any of clauses 1-3, where the bitmap is carried        in a non-legacy operation element of the management frame.    -   5. The method of any of clauses 1-4, where the punctured channel        information includes a puncturing mode indication indicating        whether a transmit opportunity (TXOP) holder is permitted to        indicate one or more second punctured subchannels to a TXOP        responder, the one or more second punctured subchannels being        different than the one or more first punctured subchannels.    -   6. The method of any of clauses 1-5, where the puncturing mode        indication further indicates whether the TXOP responder is        permitted to indicate one or more third punctured subchannels to        the TXOP holder, the third punctured subchannels being different        than the first punctured subchannels and the second punctured        subchannels.    -   7. The method of any of clauses 1-6, where the puncturing mode        indication is carried in a non-legacy capability element of the        management frame.    -   8. The method of any of clauses 1-7, further including:        receiving, from the STA, a packet carrying dynamic punctured        channel information indicating one or more second punctured        subchannels that are different than the one or more first        punctured subchannels, the portion of the wireless channel        further excluding the one or more second punctured subchannels.    -   9. The method of any of clauses 1-8, further including:        performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) operation that        indicates one or more second punctured subchannels that are        different than the one or more first punctured subchannels; and    -   transmitting, to the STA, a packet carrying dynamic punctured        channel information indicating the one or more second punctured        subchannels, the portion of the wireless channel further        excluding the one or more second punctured subchannels.    -   10. The method of any of clauses 1-9, where the packet is a        physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit        (PPDU) and the dynamic punctured channel information is carried        in a universal signal field (U-SIG) of the PPDU.    -   11. The method of any of clauses 1-9, where the packet is a        control frame and the dynamic punctured channel information is        carried in a service field of the control frame.    -   12. The method of any of clauses 1-9 or 11, where the dynamic        punctured channel information includes a bitmap representing a        plurality of subchannels of the wireless channel, the one or        more second punctured subchannels being indicated by one or more        bits, respectively, of the bitmap.    -   13. The method of any of clauses 1-9 or 11, where the dynamic        punctured channel information is carried on five bits of the        service field having a value that maps to the one or more first        punctured subchannels.    -   14. A wireless communication device including:    -   at least one processor; and    -   at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least        one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when        executed by the at least one processor, is configured to perform        the method of any one or more of clauses 1-13.    -   15. A method for wireless communication by a wireless        communication device including:    -   receiving, from an access point (AP), a management frame        carrying punctured channel information indicating one or more        first punctured subchannels associated with a wireless channel;        and    -   communicating with the AP over a portion of the wireless channel        that excludes at least the one or more first punctured        subchannels.    -   16. The method of clause 15, where the punctured channel        information includes a bitmap representing a plurality of        subchannels associated with the wireless channel, the one or        more first punctured subchannels being indicated by one or more        bits, respectively, of the bitmap.    -   17. The method of any of clauses 15 or 16, where each bit of the        bitmap represents a respective 20 MHz subchannel.    -   18. The method of any of clauses 15-17, where the bitmap is        carried in a non-legacy operation element of the management        frame.    -   19. The method of any of clauses 15-18, where the punctured        channel information includes a puncturing mode indication        indicating whether a transmit opportunity (TXOP) holder is        permitted to indicate one or more second punctured subchannels        to a TXOP responder, the one or more second punctured        subchannels being different than the one or more first punctured        subchannels.    -   20. The method of any of clauses 15-19, where the puncturing        mode indication further indicates whether the TXOP responder is        permitted to indicate one or more third punctured subchannels to        the TXOP holder, the third punctured subchannels being different        than the first punctured subchannels and the second punctured        subchannels.    -   21. The method of any of clauses 15-20, where the puncturing        mode indication is carried in a non-legacy capability element of        the management frame.    -   22. The method of any of clauses 15-21, further including:    -   receiving, from the AP, a packet carrying dynamic punctured        channel information indicating one or more second punctured        subchannels that are different than the one or more first        punctured subchannels, the portion of the wireless channel        further excluding the one or more second punctured subchannels.    -   23. The method of any of clauses 15-22, further including:    -   performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) operation that        indicates one or more second punctured subchannels that are        different than the one or more first punctured subchannels; and    -   transmitting, to the AP, a packet carrying dynamic punctured        channel information indicating the one or more second punctured        subchannels, the portion of the wireless channel further        excluding the one or more second punctured subchannels.    -   24. The method of any of clauses 15-23, where the packet is a        physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit        (PPDU) and the dynamic punctured channel information is carried        in a universal signal field (U-SIG) of the PPDU.    -   25. The method of any of clauses 15-23, where the packet is a        control frame and the dynamic punctured channel information is        carried in a service field of the control frame.    -   26. The method of any of clauses 15-23 or 25, where the dynamic        punctured channel information includes a bitmap representing a        plurality of subchannels of the wireless channel, the one or        more second punctured subchannels being indicated by one or more        bits, respectively, of the bitmap.    -   27. The method of any of clauses 15-23 or 25, where the dynamic        punctured channel information is carried on five bits of the        service field having a value that maps to the one or more first        punctured subchannels.    -   28. A wireless communication device including:    -   at least one processor; and    -   at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least        one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when        executed by the at least one processor, is configured to perform        the method of any one or more of clauses 15-27.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” or “one or moreof” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, includingsingle members. For example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intendedto cover the possibilities of: a only, b only, c only, a combination ofa and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and acombination of a and b and c.

The various illustrative components, logic, logical blocks, modules,circuits, operations and algorithm processes described in connectionwith the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations of hardware,firmware or software, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and the structural equivalents thereof. Theinterchangeability of hardware, firmware and software has been describedgenerally, in terms of functionality, and illustrated in the variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits and processesdescribed above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware,firmware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system.

Various modifications to the implementations described in thisdisclosure may be readily apparent to persons having ordinary skill inthe art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of thisdisclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with this disclosure, the principles and the novel featuresdisclosed herein.

Additionally, various features that are described in this specificationin the context of separate implementations also can be implemented incombination in a single implementation. Conversely, various featuresthat are described in the context of a single implementation also can beimplemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitablesubcombination. As such, although features may be described above asacting in particular combinations, and even initially claimed as such,one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases beexcised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. Further, the drawings may schematically depict one more exampleprocesses in the form of a flowchart or flow diagram. However, otheroperations that are not depicted can be incorporated in the exampleprocesses that are schematically illustrated. For example, one or moreadditional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, orbetween any of the illustrated operations. In some circumstances,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, theseparation of various system components in the implementations describedabove should not be understood as requiring such separation in allimplementations, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.

1. (canceled)
 2. A wireless communication device, comprising: one ormore memories storing processor-executable code; and one or moreprocessors coupled with the one or more memories and configured to, whenexecuting the code, cause the wireless communication device to: transmita frame including an operation element, the operation element includingfirst punctured channel information, the first punctured channelinformation indicating one or more first punctured subchannelsassociated with a wireless channel; communicate a packet carrying secondpunctured channel information, the second punctured channel informationindicating one or more second punctured subchannels that are differentthan the one or more first punctured subchannels; and communicate via aportion of the wireless channel that excludes at least the one or morefirst punctured subchannels and the one or more second puncturedsubchannels.
 3. The wireless communication device of claim 2, wherein,to communicate the packet, the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to, when executing the code, cause the wireless communicationdevice to: receive the packet carrying the second punctured channelinformation indicating the one or more second punctured subchannels. 4.The wireless communication device of claim 2, wherein, to communicatethe packet, the one or more processors are further configured to, whenexecuting the code, cause the wireless communication device to: transmitthe packet carrying the second punctured channel information indicatingthe one or more second punctured subchannels.
 5. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors arefurther configured to, when executing the code, cause the wirelesscommunication device to: perform a clear channel assessment (CCA)operation that indicates the one or more second punctured subchannels.6. The wireless communication device of claim 2, wherein the operationelement includes: a bit indicating whether the operation element omitsoctets that indicate a bitmap associated with the first puncturedchannel information; and the octets that indicate the bitmap associatedwith the first punctured channel information in accordance with the bitindicating that the operation element carries the octets, the firstpunctured channel information indicating the one or more first puncturedsubchannels associated with the wireless channel.
 7. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 6, wherein the bitmap represents aplurality of subchannels associated with the wireless channel, the oneor more first punctured subchannels being indicated by one or more bits,respectively, of the bitmap.
 8. The wireless communication device ofclaim 7, wherein the bitmap is a 16 bit bitmap and each bit of thebitmap represents a respective 20 megahertz (MHz) subchannel.
 9. Thewireless communication device of claim 7, wherein a first bit value ofeach bit of the one or more bits of the bitmap indicates that arespective 20 MHz subchannel is punctured.
 10. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 2, wherein the packet comprises a physicallayer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) and thesecond punctured channel information is carried in a signal field of thePPDU.
 11. The wireless communication device of claim 10, wherein thesecond punctured channel information is carried in a universal signalfield (U-SIG) of the PPDU.
 12. The wireless communication device ofclaim 10, wherein the PPDU is an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) PPDU.13. The wireless communication device of claim 2, wherein the frame is amanagement frame.
 14. The wireless communication device of claim 13,wherein the management frame is a beacon frame, a probe response frame,or an association response frame.
 15. The wireless communication deviceof claim 2, wherein the wireless communication device communicates witha wireless station (STA) via the portion of the wireless channel thatexcludes at least the one or more first punctured subchannels and theone or more second punctured subchannels.
 16. A wireless communicationdevice, comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executablecode; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memoriesconfigured to, when executing the code, cause the wireless communicationdevice to: receive a frame including an operation element, the operationelement including first punctured channel information, the firstpunctured channel information indicating one or more first puncturedsubchannels associated with a wireless channel; communicate a packetcarrying second punctured channel information, the second puncturedchannel information indicating one or more second punctured subchannelsthat are different than the one or more first punctured subchannels; andcommunicate via a portion of the wireless channel that excludes at leastthe one or more first punctured subchannels and the one or more secondpunctured subchannels.
 17. The wireless communication device of claim16, wherein the operation element includes: a bit indicating whether theoperation element omits octets that indicate a bitmap associated withthe first punctured channel information; and the octets that indicatethe bitmap associated with the first punctured channel information inaccordance with the bit indicating that the operation element carriesthe octets, the first punctured channel information indicating the oneor more first punctured subchannels associated with the wirelesschannel.
 18. The wireless communication device of claim 17, wherein afirst bit value of the bitmap indicates that a respective 20 megahertz(MHz) subchannel is punctured and a second bit value of the bitmapdifferent from the first bit value indicates that a respective 20 MHzsubchannel is not punctured.
 19. The wireless communication device ofclaim 16, wherein the operation element is an Extremely High Throughput(EHT) operation element.
 20. The wireless communication device of claim16, wherein the wireless communication device communicates with anaccess point (AP) via the portion of the wireless channel that excludesat least the one or more first punctured subchannels and the one or moresecond punctured subchannels.
 21. A method for wireless communication bya wireless communication device comprising: transmitting a frameincluding an operation element, the operation element including firstpunctured channel information, the first punctured channel informationindicating one or more first punctured subchannels associated with awireless channel; communicating a packet carrying second puncturedchannel information, the second punctured channel information indicatingone or more second punctured subchannels that are different than the oneor more first punctured subchannels; and communicating via a portion ofthe wireless channel that excludes at least the one or more firstpunctured subchannels and the one or more second punctured subchannels.